2000
#11,512
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,508
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.93
Rare Last name
Rorie
Derived from the Scottish place name Roray, likely meaning "red island" in Gaelic.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,926 Americans carry the last name Rorie. That puts it at #11,742 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.85 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 117,141 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Rorie surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Rorie with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.9K
1 in 117,141
Census rank
#11,742
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,552 bearers of the surname Rorie in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.85 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 11742nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Rorie, the largest self-reported group is Black at 47.3%. The next largest groups are White (44.5%) and Two or More Races (4.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Rorie
The surname Rorie is of Scottish origin, originating from the Lowlands region of Scotland. It is believed to be derived from the Old Norse personal name "Hroar," meaning "victorious" or "famous." The name was brought to Scotland by Norse settlers during the Viking invasions of the 8th and 9th centuries.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Rorie can be found in the Ragman Rolls of 1296, which documented the swearing of fealty to King Edward I of England by Scottish nobles and landowners. One notable entry is that of Gilbertus de Rotherford, whose name likely evolved into the modern form of Rorie over time.
In the 14th century, the name appears in the Exchequer Rolls of Scotland, which were records of royal taxation and financial accounts. One such entry from 1367 mentions a John Rory, who was a tenant farmer in the county of Ayrshire.
The Rorie name has also been associated with several notable historical figures. One of the earliest was Sir William Rorie, a Scottish knight who fought alongside Robert the Bruce during the Wars of Scottish Independence in the early 14th century. Another was James Rorie, a renowned academic and theologian who served as the Principal of the University of Glasgow in the late 16th century.
During the 17th century, the Rorie family established themselves as prominent landowners in the Scottish Borders region. One notable member was Sir Walter Rorie (1597-1676), who served as a Member of Parliament and was granted the lands of Fernieherst near Jedburgh.
In the realm of literature, the name Rorie is linked to the Scottish author and poet, William Rorie (1819-1872), who penned several works celebrating the history and culture of the Borders region.
Other notable individuals with the surname Rorie include:
1. John Rorie (1805-1885), a Scottish-born Australian pioneer and explorer who played a significant role in the early settlement of South Australia.
2. Thomas Rorie (1827-1899), a Scottish-American businessman and industrialist who established the Rorie Foundry and Machine Works in Ohio, which became a leading manufacturer of steam engines and machinery during the Industrial Revolution.
3. Margaret Rorie (1891-1979), a Scottish suffragette and activist who campaigned for women's rights and was imprisoned multiple times for her involvement in protests and civil disobedience.
4. James Rorie (1917-2002), a Scottish-American baseball player who played in the Major Leagues for the St. Louis Cardinals and Boston Braves in the 1940s.
5. Donald Rorie (1943-2018), a Scottish artist and sculptor known for his abstract and minimalist works, many of which are displayed in galleries and public spaces throughout Scotland.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rorie
Among Census respondents with the surname Rorie, the largest self-reported group is Black at 47.3%. The next largest groups are White (44.5%) and Two or More Races (4.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Rorie bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Rorie surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American47.3% · 1,208
- White44.5% · 1,135
- Two or more races4.7% · 119
- Hispanic or Latino2.2% · 57
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 17
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 16
Timeline
Historical Census data for Rorie
Rorie appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#11,685
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,682
+174 bearers (+6.9%)
Per 100,000 0.91
Rank movement Down 173 places
2020
#11,742
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,552
-130 bearers (-4.8%)
Per 100,000 0.85
Rank movement Down 57 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #11,512 | 2,508 | 0.93 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #11,685 | 2,682 | 0.91 | +174 bearers (+6.9%) | Down 173 places |
| 2020 | #11,742 | 2,552 | 0.85 | -130 bearers (-4.8%) | Down 57 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Rorie surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #11,685 | #11,742 | -0.5% |
| Count | 2,682 | 2,552 | -4.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.91 | 0.85 | -6.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Rorie bearers went from 2,682 to 2,552 (-4.8% change). The surname moved down 57 positions in the national ranking, going from #11,685 to #11,742.
FAQ
Rorie surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Rorie?
Name Census estimates that about 2,926 living Americans carry the surname Rorie. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 117,141 residents.
How common is Rorie?
Rorie ranks #11,742 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.85 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,552 people with the surname Rorie. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,926), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.85 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.85 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Rorie.
Has Rorie become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Rorie went from 2,682 recorded bearers to 2,552. That is a decrease of 130 (-4.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #11,685 to #11,742.
What does the Census say about the background of Rorie?
Among Census respondents with the surname Rorie, the largest self-reported group is Black at 47.3%. The next largest groups are White (44.5%) and Two or More Races (4.7%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
Black is the largest self-reported group for the surname Rorie in the 2020 Census, accounting for 47.3% (1,208 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Rorie appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Black (47.3%), White (44.5%), Two or More Races (4.7%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Rorie (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Rorie mean?
Derived from the Scottish place name Roray, likely meaning "red island" in Gaelic. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Rorie (0.85 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How common is the surname Rorie?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how common the surname Rorie is at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.